Equity and teachers’ online classroom assessment literacy in China: insights from parental involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT School teachers often involve parents to assist in online assessment, but parental involvement can violate equity principles when not carefully monitored. In this article, we analyse types of parental involvement in online classroom assessment resulting from teachers’ requests, and discuss how such requests may impact on educational equity. Our data sets are interviews with 45 teachers and 33 parents, supplemented by recorded online teaching videos and students’ written and oral works. The findings reveal that providing equal opportunities for students’ learning is not yet at the forefront of teachers’ minds when they make decisions regarding parental involvement. On that basis, we discuss the necessity and difficulties of incorporating the principle of equity into teachers’ online classroom assessment literacy in contemporary China.